


Catalyst

by TheDarknessFactor



Series: The Scientific Implications of Two Sisters [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Child Abuse, Dark, Gen, Mommy Issues, Origins, Pre-Class Stories, Sibling Relationship, Sisters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-20
Packaged: 2018-05-22 07:06:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6069856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarknessFactor/pseuds/TheDarknessFactor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>S'kora is her mother's only hope.</p>
<p>She doesn't say, but she doesn't know if that's a good thing.</p>
<p>(Kulah'ni <i>knows</i> that it isn't.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Catalyst

**Author's Note:**

> This is the start of a probably long-running series of one-shots, featuring my Sith Inquisitor and my Trooper. The subject material will be heavy at times; this story in particular contains **child abuse**. If that disturbs you, I'd recommend that you do not read this.

The heater is broken.

That's what her mother says, anyway.  Kulah'ni tightens her arms around S’kora.  Her sister is tiny (their mother calls her ‘fragile’), so she must use her larger size to keep S'kora warm. 

The wind blows harshly outside of the derelict spaceship where they have found shelter.  It makes Kulah'ni think of ghosts, screaming in the night.  She wishes that she could see them, that perhaps she could call out to them and ask them what is wrong with their mother.  Would a ghost know?  She isn't sure.

It could also be that the ghosts are the ones who make their mother's hands shake so much.

 Neither of them make a sound.  Mother is staring at the dwindling fire but not really seeing it.  Kulah'ni has counted three weeks since Mother first started to become like this.  She wishes it would end.

The wind howls in her ear, and she holds onto S'kora for dear life.

* * *

Their mother has always been strict and imposing, but it begins with this:

 Kulah'ni and S'kora run through the streets.  Kulah'ni is gripping S'kora's hand, fingers slippery with sweat.  They're yelled at by merchants and pedestrians alike, all annoyed by the two little girls who give little to no regard to the people in their way.

 S'kora stumbles a step and crashes to the ground, bringing Kulah'ni down with her.  Kulah'ni is bigger, so she throws herself on top of S'kora just as the boys arrive.

“Think you can defend the freak?”

Kulah'ni narrows her eyes.

“Kulah'ni, get _off_!” S'kora shouts.

 One of the boys kicks Kulah'ni; S'kora starts struggling.  Kulah'ni winces, but doesn't say a word.  Another one grabs her by the hair, eliciting a yell from her as they succeed in pulling her off of S'kora.  She blindly kicks out at one of them before she's punched in the stomach.

 There’s a tall one.  Dark haired.  He says, “Save it for the freak.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Kulah'ni can see guards approaching.  She stomps her foot on the toe of her captor and elbows him.  She dives at the one who's clearly about to hit S'kora, knocking him to the ground.  S'kora is already standing when she rises, staring over Kulah'ni’s shoulder.

“Come on!” Kulah'ni urges.

 S'kora thrusts out a hand, and there's an ‘oof' behind her, like someone had the wind knocked out of them.  Kulah'ni turns to see the lead boy on the ground, at least five feet away from where he was standing before.

 There's a blaster in his hand.

 She grabs S'kora's hand and runs again before she can think about that too much, and doesn’t look back.

* * *

Their mother finds out, of course.

 She rains praise on S’kora.  “I always knew there was a reason for your…unusual looks. Never mind those rumors about a Cathar now – soon you will be Sith, and no one will be able to say another word against our family.”

Kulah'ni listens, and pretends she is invisible (she may as well be).  S'kora does not move as their mother fusses.  Her hands are clenched into fists, but they do not shake.  She answers her mother's questions in a quiet voice, her deference made all the more apparent by her downcast eyes, until their mother gleefully exits the room. 

S'kora looks at Kulah'ni with wide eyes.  “I don't understand.”

“Me neither.”

* * *

They don't have many clothes, and of the ones they do have, none of them are nice.  Still, S’kora’s hair is plaited by their mother and her face is thoroughly scrubbed to remove the smudges of dirt that are usually so constant in their lives.  Their mother coos and fawns in a way that neither of them are used to.

“I'm so proud,” she says, kissing S’kora’s forehead.

Kulah'ni is told to stay in the hut, and to prepare dinner – “For only one person, Kulah'ni” – and it's as the two are walking out the door that she feels her breath hitch.  S'kora is shooting her a frantic look, one hand stretched towards her as their mother all but drags her out.  Kulah'ni, however, does nothing but stand there, frozen. 

She moves about like a droid, doing as her mother asks (though she doesn't eat a midday meal, and isn't sure she'll even be able to stomach dinner).  The water purifier breaks again, so she sets about doing the mind-numbing task of fixing it.  Her hands follow a familiar pattern, digging through wires and removing the power cell. 

It's late in the evening when the hut door opens.  Kulah'ni has already managed to force down her share of dinner, and has left her mother's over the embers of the fire.  She doesn’t look up from the old comm she's tinkering with, scowling when her fingers get tangled up in the wiring. 

There is a light touch on her arm, and she looks up to see wide yellow eyes gazing at her.

Kulah’ni looks over at the fire, to where their mother is taking her dinner portion with a frozen look on her face.  S’kora wriggles her way under Kulah’ni’s arm, poking at the comm, but Kulah’ni keeps watching their mother.  She sits down with her bowl stiffly, and doesn’t even look in their direction when S'kora's stomach growls loudly.

Later, after their mother has gone to sleep, Kulah'ni and S'kora sneak outside.  The night air is cool and crisp, with a light breeze stirring S'kora's plait.  Kulah'ni works on undoing it while S'kora finally begins to speak.

“They told me to do what I did before,” she says.  “But I couldn't.  They laughed and told Mother to stop wasting their time.”

“Who were they?”

“Scary people.  Mother called them lords.  They spoke of Sith a lot.”

Kulah'ni pauses in her movements.  “…was Mother very angry?”

“I don't think so.  She told me that I would just have to practice.”

“Oh.  Okay.”  Practicing doesn't sound too bad, until she remembers how S'kora used her ability in the first place.  When she finishes with S'kora's hair they both move back inside.  S'kora falls asleep almost immediately, tucked against Kulah’ni's side, but Kulah'ni leaves her eyes open all night.

* * *

S'kora isn't allowed to come with Kulah'ni to the market anymore.  Instead, she stays at home, working with their mother on controlling the Force.  More often than not, Kulah'ni comes home to find their mother with that same frozen look on her face, and finds S'kora to be close to tears.  She's developed a routine for it: she guides S'kora outside to enjoy some sunlight, and then prepares dinner for the three of them.

 She watches  their mother like a hawk these days.

 Kulah'ni returns with a basket of Sinoan fruit one day, having bartered off another water purifier that she managed to fix.  Before she can enter the hut, however, she hears S'kora yell, “I can't _do_ it!”

“Quiet!” their mother snaps.

 Kulah'ni pushes the door open as loudly as she can.  Their mother pretends not to see her and says, “Well, we’ll have to try something different next time.”

S'kora nods, staring at her feet.

 Their mother takes a breath before heading outside - probably to wash up before dinner.  Kulah'ni reaches into the basket and hands one of the fruits to S'kora, who bites into it eagerly, before taking one for herself and sitting cross-legged on the floor. 

“What do you think Mother intends to do?” S'kora asks. 

“I don't know.”  The fruit should taste better than this, but… “I don't understand her anymore.”

“She told me that I'm the key to restoring our family’s honor.  Whatever that means.  We've always been poor.”

Kulah'ni lowers the fruit.  “I don't know.  I'm sorry, these aren't very good.  I should've gotten better ones.”

S'kora shoots her a quizzical look.  “Mine’s delicious.  You must've just gotten a bad one.”

Their mother comes into the hut again, looking more composed, but her eyes dart around the room faster than a rat.  “I guess so,“ Kulah'ni says.

* * *

These days, Kulah'ni is all but banished from the house once breakfast is over.  She wanders around the town, looking for broken machinery to fix, then settles in a quiet spot to work.  Or she goes to the market to buy supplies.  Or she gets into fights.

 She never starts them, but the boys around here still remember her ‘freak’ sister, so they set their sights on her more often than not.  Kulah'ni doesn’t exactly go down easy, and she's managed to blacken an eye or two, but she comes home each day exhausted and covered in bruises every time it happens.

 She's almost tired enough that she doesn’t notice when S’kora starts forming bruises of her own.

 Almost.

S'kora still sleeps curled up next to her, but she's plagued by nightmares more often than not.  She describes a monster with spines growing from its head – always in careful whispers, in case their mother wakes up.  She says that the monster does terrible things, and that it never shows any remorse for its actions.

“I hate it,” she says one night.  “I want it to leave me alone.”

Kulah'ni has no answers.  She spends most nights lying awake, holding onto S'kora. 

Months pass in this way, and winter approaches.  Winter on Dantooine means cold winds and dead grass; Kulah'ni starts to feel the chill of the night in a way that she never has before.  She and S’kora both become thinner, because their mother has reduced the number of meals that the three of them eat.

The boys finally become bored with Kulah'ni, and her bruises fade.  S'kora's do not.

Kulah'ni finds an old tattered cloak one day, and wraps it around herself instantly.  She and S'kora begin to use it as a blanket, even though the relief it provides is meager at best.  She takes to keeping it around her shoulders while she finds more machines to tinker with, and it is what she is wearing when she finds a blaster.

Her eyes widen upon seeing it, and she quickly tucks it under her cloak.  Blasters are illegal for Imperial civilians – and therefore highly valuable.  In her eagerness to test if it's still working, she runs home, not noticing that the sun is still high in the sky.

 She hears a noise when she is about to enter the hut – a thud, followed by a grunt.  She creeps around to the only window (a small, round hole, barely large enough to poke her head through), and sees S’kora picking herself up from the ground, rubbing a red welt on her arm.

“Again,” their mother says.

In between the two of them is a small pile of rocks.  As Kulah'ni watches, S'kora reaches out with one hand, her expression caught in a fierce frown.  Her hand trembles slightly.  With her arm outstretched, Kulah'ni can see more welts.

She takes the blaster out, aims it at her mother's back.  She holds her breath for a heartbeat or two, feeling her entire body quake, and then lowers the blaster and slinks back to the door.

 Her arrival, at least, stops their mother from continuing S'kora's training for the rest of the day.  Mother all but ignores her again, instead of being angry like Kulah'ni expected.  S'kora joins her while she starts tinkering with the blaster, her eyes wide as she watches Kulah'ni remove the barrel, and check the trigger mechanism.

 That is the day that the heater breaks, and Kulah'ni and S'kora spend the night awake.  Kulah'ni alternates between rubbing warmth into S'kora's fingers and toes and her own.  The old cloak stays wrapped around them both the entire time.

 It must be very early morning when Kulah'ni whispers, “We should run away.”

S'kora from several months ago would have gasped – maybe asked where they would have gone.  Now she just shakes her head.

“We can't,” she whispers back.  “It's too cold.”

* * *

The rumors start to follow her wherever she goes – that her mother is losing her mind, that her sister has died (because she is never allowed outside anymore) – and Kulah'ni cannot stop hearing them, much as she wants to.  A lot of people begin to assume that she's an orphan, although she patiently explains that she has a mother and a sister.  She never mentions that S'kora might be Force sensitive.

Her mother begins to mutter to herself more frequently, and jumps at completely normal noises.  Kulah'ni once startled her after coming back so badly that she'd tripped over the fire pit.  Kulah'ni moved to help her, but was waved away.

 S'kora doesn't speak much anymore.  She no longer tells Kulah'ni about her dreams, though Kulah'ni knows that she still has them.  There is, however, something in her eyes that Kulah'ni has never seen before.  It burns her whenever she meets S’kora’s gaze.

Things improve slightly once winter passes.  Kulah'ni is able to find more people to trade with, and gets better food.  She makes sure to make a larger portion of dinner for S'kora than for herself – her sister looks like the stick figures they used to draw together in the dirt.

She's returning home from the market at sundown, with the sky painted orange in the distance, when she hears a shout.

“Maybe it's not a big enough threat, you _worthless_ -“

Kulah'ni has never heard her mother speak that way.

She runs through the door to find S'kora backing up against the wall, staring down at the end of the blaster that _Kulah'ni_ fixed, that _Kulah'ni_ didn't want to trade away –

She slams into her mother's side, grabbing at the blaster and wrenching it from her mother's grip.  It's surprisingly easy, but then her mother has been wasting away inside this hut just as much as S'kora has.  Her mother is yelling, and S'kora is sobbing, and then there is a great pain in her head and then only blackness.

* * *

When Kulah'ni wakes up, it's to a throbbing headache and pitch darkness.

She's able to see more after she stumbles outside, trying to shake off the dizziness.  Nothing inside the hut is gone (as far as she can tell, with only light spilling in from the doorway), so her mother hasn’t just abandoned her.  She ventures back outside with the cloak around her, trying to see if there are footprints. 

There are none that she can see.

 Frustration builds within her until she wants to scream.  She cannot go looking for them – there is a town curfew, and the Imperial guards are not all that forgiving.  Scowling and kicking at a loose stone, she turns around and heads back indoors.  There is nothing for her to do but sit, and wait.

Hours pass until daylight starts to return to the town, at which point Kulah'ni hurries outside and looks for signs of footprints.  She finds two sets going around the hut, leading to the outer edge of town and then past even the outskirts.  Before she can follow them further, however, she catches a flash of white back in the village.

She sprints, ignoring the way her muscles protest (stiff from sitting all night) until she emerges into the town square.  Her mother is standing off to one side, a hand on S'kora's shoulder.  Two scary-looking men are facing them.

 Kulah'ni freezes, unable to do anything but stare as her mother pushes S'kora towards the men, then begins walking away.  Each man grabs one of S'kora's arms, and Kulah'ni is close enough now to see that S'kora is struggling.

“S'kora!” she yells. 

She starts to run towards her, only to be caught in the iron grip of her mother.  In that moment, S'kora turns her head to look at her, eyes glazed with pain, and Kulah'ni freezes in horror at the sight of jagged red patterns adorning her face.

 Then the two men all but throw her into the speeder, and it's zooming away.

Kulah'ni is shaking like never before.  Tears start welling in her eyes.

“Don't you start,” her mother says.

“What did you do to her?”

“The only thing she was good for.  There’s no place for freaks in the Jaenn family.”

Kulah'ni has never wanted to hurt someone so badly.  “She's not a freak.”

“We both know better, Kulah'ni,” her mother snaps.  She takes a deep breath.  “This is a chance for our family to start over.  With the money I received, we can easily leave this planet, and travel somewhere more secure – Ziost, perhaps, or Manaan.  This will be good for us.”

It's the first time her mother has said something to her that's more than just ordering her to leave the hut.  Feeling numb, Kulah'ni nods.

She follows her mother back to the hut, but not without looking back in the direction S'kora disappeared in first.

* * *

It is the middle of the night, once again.  Her mother is sleeping.  Kulah'ni gathers up the only things she's interested in carrying – the old cloak, and the blaster.  Then, it's an easy matter to tiptoe over to her mother's things, and pull the credit chips out from among them.  She looks at her mother's body, prone in sleep, and lays a hand on the blaster –

Shaking her head, Kulah'ni leaves the hut. 

It might take her months.  It might even take her years.  She doesn't know.  But one way or another, she's going to find her sister.

**Author's Note:**

> Couple of notes:
> 
> 1\. S'kora and Kulah'ni are human. They were born in the Empire. For the sake of not knowing if Dantooine is even a thing yet, planet to put them on, let's say that it is an Imperial planet at this point in time, with only a spaceport and a few smaller towns. S'kora and Kulah'ni are both the descendents of Lord Kallig. 
> 
> 2\. I'm terrible at screenshots, so I don't have pictures to provide. A vague description is that S'kora has white hair and yellow eyes (and not because she's Force-sensitive), hence why she's labeled a freak. Kulah'ni, on the other hand, has black hair and blue eyes. She looks much more like their mother.
> 
> 3\. The conditions of the town that they live in aren't good. Dantooine is not a high-priority planet for the Empire; it's enough of a backwater that life is pretty primitive, hence why the Jaenns live in a hut.
> 
> 4\. I'm well aware that the Republic Trooper doesn't have an Imperial accent; that little tidbit will be addressed at some point.
> 
> 5\. Other classes may come into play later on, but none of them will have as big of a role as S'kora or Kulah'ni.
> 
> If you have any questions, feel free to drop by my [tumblr](http://darknessfactor.tumblr.com/ask) and give me an ask! Or you can just comment on here, I'll probably answer.


End file.
